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| United States Patent |
6,109,403
|
|
Godshaw
|
August 29, 2000
|
Overnight case construction
Abstract
An overnight luggage case includes a telescoping handle, a carrying strap,
a luggage handle, a front side that folds downwardly and outwardly and an
internal extensible flap construction upon which items such as suits and
the like may be retained and folded.
| Inventors:
|
Godshaw; Donald E. (Evanston, IL)
|
| Assignee:
|
Travel Caddy Inc. (Des Plaines, IL)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
216403 |
| Filed:
|
December 18, 1998 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
190/115; 190/18A; 190/113; 206/287.1; 206/290 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A45C 013/00 |
| Field of Search: |
206/290,289,287.1
190/115,113,112
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 1984446 | Dec., 1934 | Wheary | 206/289.
|
| 2362807 | Nov., 1944 | Dresner | 206/289.
|
| 2418589 | Apr., 1947 | Lifton | 206/289.
|
| 2918997 | Dec., 1959 | Kotkins | 190/113.
|
| 3944032 | Mar., 1976 | Samhammer et al. | 190/113.
|
| 4854431 | Aug., 1989 | Pulichino, Jr. et al. | 190/108.
|
| 5054589 | Oct., 1991 | Bomes et al. | 190/113.
|
| 5575362 | Nov., 1996 | Franklin et al. | 190/115.
|
| 5732817 | Mar., 1998 | Plath | 190/289.
|
Primary Examiner: Garbe; Stephen P.
Assistant Examiner: Mai; Tri M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An overnight luggage case comprising, in combination:
a generally rectangular parallelpiped bag having a back side, a top side, a
bottom side, and opposite lateral sides, said top side, bottom side and
lateral sides connected to define a generally rectangular loop connected
to the back side to form an enclosure, open on a front side;
a front side flap joined to the bottom side and releasably attached to the
lateral sides and top side to form an enclosed enclosure;
a telescoping handle on the back side having a telescoping extension
projectible from the intersection of the top side and the back side;
an internal flap hinged to the bottom side on the inside of the enclosure
adjacent the intersection of the top side and the back side;
an internal flap extension connected from the internal flap at the
connection thereof to the inside of the enclosure, said internal flap
extension foldable over the internal flap for retention within the
enclosure;
a hanger attachment mechanism on the inside of the enclosure on the top
side thereof intermediate the lateral sides;
said internal flap including a notch for fitting around the hanger
attachment mechanism when the internal flap is in a closed position in the
enclosure; and
a hanger for support of the luggage and its contents, said hanger attached
to the inside of the top side for hanging the case when the front side is
open;
whereby the internal flap and extension may be folded over one another and
the back side and in combination with the hanger attachment mechanism
define an extended planar clothes platform cooperative with the hanger
attachment mechanism for supporting unfolded items.
2. The luggage of claim 1 including fasteners for attaching the folded flap
extension to the top side.
3. The luggage of claim 1 including wheels attached to the corners of the
bottom side junction with the back side.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to luggage, and more particularly, to an overnight
case or bag capable of conveniently holding suits, dresses and the like.
With the advent of increasing airline regulations regarding the size and
shape of carry-on baggage, it has become necessary to conform with such
regulations by utilizing a case or bag which conforms with those
regulations. The sizing of such luggage is, therefore, critical. On the
other hand, it is desirable to have adequately sized luggage in order for
the luggage to properly carry necessary items packed therein particularly
a suit, jacket or dress. A further desire is to have luggage which is
easily portable and can be carried, or wheeled, wherein the wheel
construction is integrated into the bag. These, among other desires,
inspired the development of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a principal aspect, the present invention comprises soft-sided luggage
having a generally rectangular parallelpiped shape with an extensible
handle integrated into a back side and wheels on a bottom side. The
interior of the luggage is accessible through a front side panel. Within
the luggage is a foldable flap which elongates to define a platform for
support of clothing. The flap is attached to the interior of the luggage
so that it folds inwardly from the bottom side. Hangers may be affixed to
a hanger attachment mechanism attached to the inside of the top side of
the bag. In this manner, the extensible interior flap may be folded with
clothing items that are attached to the hanger mechanism.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide improved portable luggage
of convenient size which may be used as a carry-on item of luggage for
airline travel.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lightweight, yet
portable, item of luggage.
Another object of the invention is to provide an item of luggage which
includes wheels and an extendible handle, yet may be easily carried by
means of a carry strap or a handle. Another object of the invention is to
provide an item of luggage which is designed to hold lengthy clothing
items such as suits, dresses and the like and to permit folding of those
items in a manner which will preserve their appearance.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be
set forth in a detailed description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the detailed description which follows, reference will be made to the
drawing comprised of the following figures:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the assembled item of luggage of the
invention;
FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the luggage wherein the front side has been
opened to expose the interior construction;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view wherein the interior construction of the
luggage is further adjusted for internal exposure of the construction
thereof;
FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a further opening of the interior
construction of the luggage; and
FIG. 5 is an isometric view depicting the full opening of all of the
elements forming the interior of the luggage of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The luggage of the invention is typically a soft sided item of luggage
which includes a telescoping or extensible handle 10 mounted in a back
side 12 of the luggage. The luggage further includes a top side 14, a
first lateral side 16, a second lateral side 18, a bottom side 20 and a
front panel or side 22. The back side 12, lateral sides 16 and 18, and
bottom side 20 are all permanently joined together to define a rectangular
enclosure having an open front panel attached by means of a flexible or
integrated hinge along one side of the panel. The attachment of the front
panel or side 22 is along a line defined by the juncture between the
bottom side 20 and the front side 22. A zipper connection or zipper 24 is
preferably used to attach and detach the remaining edges of panel 22 to
the enclosure defined by the missing lateral and top sides 16, 18, 20. The
front side 22 may include an optional outer pocket 26 with a zipper 28.
Wheels 30 are positioned at the juncture of the back side 12 and bottom
side 20 and at the opposite ends or comers thereof An optional carrying
strap 32 may be attached to the lateral sides 16 and 18 so that when the
extensible handle 10 is in its retracted position, the strap 32 may be
used to carry the bag or luggage. A handle 36 attached to the top side 14
may also be used to carry the luggage. Typically, the luggage has the
shape of a rectangular parallelpiped with dimensions that conform to
airline standards for carry-on luggage, e.g., 22 inches by 14 inches by 9
inches maximum.
Beginning with FIG. 2 and then continuing on through FIG. 5 of the drawing,
it will be noted that the interior construction of the luggage is
disclosed. The front side 22 which is attached by means of the zipper 24
is folded out in FIG. 2 and an optional interior pocket 40 is provided
which has a zipper 42. An internal, extendible or foldable planar flap 44
depicted in FIGS. 2-5 has a top end removably attached by means of
connectors 46 and 48 to the top side 14 on the interior of the luggage.
Flap 44 includes a center notch in or adjacent its top edge. Note that a
hanger member 50 which is also attached to the inside of the top side 14
is retained on the flap 44 by a fastener 52. Release of the fastener 52
effects release of the hanger 50 to the configuration depicted in FIG. 3.
The hanger 50 may be used to hang the entire luggage item from a hanger or
on the back of a door, for example.
As shown in FIG. 3, the flap 44 is joined to the interior of the luggage
generally along the junction between the bottom side 20 and the front side
22 at the joining intersection 56. The flap 44 defines a clothing platform
and is folded generally into one third sections. In FIGS. 3 and 4, these
sections are depicted in their various stages of being unfolded. The flap
44, thus, includes an internal top section or portion 58 which has notch
60 that fits around a centered hanger support mechanism 62 which is
attached to the inside of the top 14. The hanger mechanism 62 is designed
to engage and hold hangers with items such as suits, dresses and the like
within the luggage. The flap 44 then includes a middle extension or
section 64 and an end extension or section 66. Clothing straps, such as
straps 68 and 70, are provided to hold clothing items on the flap 44.
After the items are placed on the strap 44 and a hanger is attached to the
hanger mechanism 62, the sections 66, 64 and 58 may be folded to neatly
place the clothing items within the luggage.
As shown in FIG. 5, the extensible or telescoping handle 10 fits within the
interior of the luggage against the back side 12. When packing the luggage
then, toiletries and other smaller items of clothing may be initially
positioned against the back side 12. The flap 58 may then be folded in
position to cover and protect these items. Then, formal clothing such as
suits and dresses may be placed on the extendible flap 44 and the flap 44
may then be folded as previously described. Supplemental zipper pockets
such as pocket 70 may be included on the interior of the luggage for
example, along one side.
It will be noted that the combination provides for the ease of packing of
more formal clothing while at the same time including toiletries and other
necessary items in a convenient manner and in a compact fashion in a
soft-sided item of luggage. The luggage may also be made in hard-sided, or
partially hard-sided configuration. For example, the back side or back
panel 12 may be stiff or rigid as may be the lateral sides 16 and 18.
The general configuration of the luggage is a parallelpiped configuration
as depicted in the drawings. There may be alternative forms or shapes of
the luggage, but the configuration of the luggage will be generally
parallelpiped. Thus, while there has been set forth a preferred embodiment
of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is to be
limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof.
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